Glass by Showg Sahab

As the tear glistened her moist cheek, she tried not to breath too loudly. The gush of blood made her face burn red with heat. Her heart was humming in her ears. She feared they could hear it too.

Others.

She wedged herself tightly behind a tree branch, as her eyes started to take in her surroundings. She was glad she found this hideout, though the cave was dark, moist and moldy, it was better than being out in the open.

The walls were wet, she could faintly make out the water droplets in the cavities near her. She pushed her face into one of them; drinking. The water was cool and satisfying.

Closing her eyes, she began to listen some more, focusing on the outside sounds, every little detail was audible to her now, listening harder, she heard some footsteps.

Hundreds of thousands of feet all running towards her. They were so fast, it was like they were humming. Her fear grew as her heart thumped faster.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

She knew she was dead; she could feel the end closing in now. Closing her eyes, she made her final thoughts, a string of apologies streamed out, blurting them in short breathless whispers.

They were so fast that they were on top of her now.

She tightened her eyelids; accepting her fate. Huddling tighter to stop herself from quivering, she put her arms on her head; covering it, it took all her strength not to scream.

She was glad she could muster the energy not to howl. For all that droning was rain. A long soft sigh escaped her lips. The shuddering stopped.

Looking around the cavity, begging for an idea to convene, something glittering under the reflection of the falling rain caught her eye. It was so close to the mouth of the cave that she feared she would be seen if she reached out. Walking her fingers to it, ever so slightly, she grabbed it and stuffed it in her pocket. She felt something there.

Glancing at her pocket, she pulled out a small silver pouch. She opened it to make sure its contents were okay; it was too dark to tell. Poking her finger inside, she smiled after realizing all was well.

She closed the pouch and started to put it back into her pocket, stopping half way, a thought crossed her mind.

What if they catch me?

She looked around for an inspiration, something wild an quick. Something that would save her life and her treasure.

With that she counted some rocks, removed one and hid the pouch under it, wrapping it with some deserted leaves she could fumble lying around. She said a prayer and put the rock back where it belonged, fidgeting a little to make sure it fit in its place without anything poking out.

She closed her eyes again, imagining what would have happened if she was caught, if the contents of the pouch were seen, then used! Engraving some words in the closest flat rock she could find, trying to make them vague but understandable to whom she’d send later on, She started to plan out the clues she would leave behind.

Whether or not it was time for her to leave, she did not know.

Chance.

He taught her to always take chances, to always try her best and hardest. She didn’t want to disappoint him, to dishonor his memory like this. Tucking her fingers under her unmarked rock one last time, reassuring her conscious that her belongings were safe, she ducked out of the opening, took a deep breath, and ran for her life.

All hell broke loose.

The humming coming from the rain has subsided under the throb of footsteps after her, they had been searching; they were close. Had she not escaped they would have found and killed her. She smiled to herself for being smart enough to leave the pouch hidden in the cavity.

Imagining their faces once they killed her and not found it on her, the fury, the rage, she had to bite her tongue to keep herself from laughing out loud, This was too ironic.

Pulling out the object from the cave, she tightened her fingers around it, she felt it cut into her flesh, warm blood was trickling down as she ran, she now knew her scent would be stronger for them to track. She loosened her grip, cursing herself for not being careful, though priding herself for taking them further away from her treasure.

Something in the back of her head was nagging her, an old feeling or memory. It was hard for it to come through. She blocked that part of her life so well that she barely remembers any of it. But one name managed to escape.

Eric.

The smile disappeared. The darkness almost engulfed her. The pain. The guilt. The horror. Every horrible feeling started to take over.

She closed her mind again, the brick wall forming, she could not think of him, not now, not like this! Moreover, everything was taking over, her brick wall crashed and with it, everything came back.

Falling down, she curled into a ball, whimpering from all the pain her memories brought back. She could now hear whispers, people talking, pointing commands and screaming in their heads. She realized her abilities were back. Everything she learned was flooding back.

Looking down at her right hand, she saw that she was still bleeding. She got up, knowing what must be done, she made the cut larger. Blood gushing now, she knew it made them crazy, the scent was unbearable to them now, she could hear it in their whispers. She could feel those whispers turning to screams of joy and uncontrolled hysterics.

Trying to focus, to remember what she learned, what seemed a century ago, she started letting her blood flow in a fluid motion, creating an almost perfect star.

A sad smile escaped her lips; she was proud, but there wasn’t any time to be proud. Plucking some hairs off her head, she crushed them in her palms and blew them into the wind while stepping into the center. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized what she had just done.

As all the feelings came back to her, the feelings she once mustered and hid, the unbearable joy took over, washing away the guilt she felt. She shouldn’t have ran away, she knew now. And as the white took over, she closed her eyes, chose her destination, and waited to be greeted by her family again.

It was beautiful to be engulfed, for all the whispers went away.

–

As the hounds reached the place where the scent was strongest, they howled in agony. For they were expecting a warm, blood filled soul to feed on. Licking the still warm blood off it, the howls grew distant yet more agonizing.